MPs urged to be vigilant on liberties

The "shoot to kill to protect" policy which led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes amounts to state execution, the former Liberal Democrat chairman and Treasury spokesman Matthew Taylor MP claimed yesterday.

Speaking at the Guardian Debate in Blackpool - Left or right at the Lib Dem crossroads? - Mr Taylor and Sir Menzies Campbell, the foreign affairs spokesman, argued that the divide between liberalism and authoritarianism was as important in judging parties and pressed their own to maintain its fight for civil liberties.

While Liberal Democrats have challenged the government on many of its counter-terrorism proposals, some MPs and activists feel the party should take an even stronger stand.

Sir Menzies said precious rights had been dragged out of rulers and should not be ceded too easily, warning: "The responsibility for striking a balance [on civil liberties] does not rest in the office of the leader of the Metropolitan police and certainly not in the office of the head of MI5. It rests in every democracy with the people who are elected to the House of Commons for that purpose."

But Mr Taylor went further in announcing: "I am not prepared to stand by in a country that makes the decision to allow state execution on the basis of suspicion - even of mass terrorism. Taking an innocent man, bear-hugging him, shooting him seven times on the basis of suspicion is unacceptable. It is wrong fundamentally."

The former chairman, who was voted out by his parliamentary colleagues this summer, also urged the party not to shy away from its commitment to redistributive taxes and civil liberties.

In the frankest speech to date from a senior Lib Dem on the challenges facing the party, he admitted: "There's a massive debate going on in this party - particularly in the leadership - about redistribution and fairness. We fought on fairness at the last election and some people seem surprised we came under attack as a result. I don't think it's a surprise and I don't think we should flinch."

But Mr Taylor, who wrote the election manifesto, said the party had to recognise its "fundamental failure" in not offering people a vision that bound together its members and its policies.

He added: "We do face real challenges from the Tories. We did not have the result [against] the Conservative party which we hoped for and which people worked enormously hard for."

Chris Huhne, MP for Eastleigh, said that analysing politics on a left-right spectrum was an outdated way of understanding it.

But Susan Kramer, MP for Richmond, urged the party not to waste time fighting the definition. "I'm happy to say we are a centre-left party," she told the audience, adding that the party should concentrate on ensuring its priorities - such as localism and the environment - were associated with that position.